It is indeed!
My fave for the Rapsodie by a long shot and the 2 tracks from Miroirs also very good.
My fave Ma Mere though is -
Can’t bear Bolero, so no views on that
Can’t bear Bolero, so no views on that
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There’s a very informative article on 4D tech based on a press demonstration during a Levine recording at the Met
https://www.gammaelectronics.xyz/s_1993-DG-4D.html
DGP
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Thanks for the link. Now to hunt down a cheap copy of that obscure Met Eroica!
There’s quite a few on ebay but they are all US or German imports £4 and up - Discogs has 18 (17 US one Israeli) but they are priced from £1 upwards.
DGP
This is the best recital disc I’ve come across in a long time. Vannina Santoni has a gorgeous and expressive soprano perfectly suited to most of the music here.
On CD-R, from download.
Cheers
EJ
It’s the eur 5 transport that sours the deal. i hold Levine in high regard but I can’t see myself returning often to the combination of Schubert 8 and Beethoven 3 on the same disc!
I’ve owned this recording of BPO/HvK Prokofiev 5 on CD/rip for decades. Enjoyed it, but I had felt the need to investigate other performances and now own a few others on CD.
I picked up this Vinyl copy for £2.99 in Oxfam yesterday. A few annoying cueing scratches at the start of both sides, but otherwise in excellent nick. It’s a German pressing. It sounds magnificent and the excellence of Karajan’s reading and the BPO’s superb playing are very fully revealed. Wunderbar!
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Stunning performance - one of my earliest records - probably one of the last recordings made by DG with valve equipment. DGP
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Interesting @DGP. I didn’t know about the Valve equipment. Maybe explains the great SQ. When was the recording? There’s no date on either the sleeve or disc label.
24th September 1968, Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Berlin according to Presto Classical
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Beat me to it! DGP
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I’m aware that there may be limited value added in my keeping on highlighting vinyl recordings that aren’t generally available (Discogs?), but continuing the theme of utterly thrilling 20th Century Russian Symphonies, tonight’s listening led to my pulling this off the shelf for a listen. I’ve previously found this work impressive in parts, but hadn’t found a performance that pieced it all together. This does. Or perhaps more accurately, it assembles this collage of Orchestral colours and textures into an impressionistic whole that knocks my socks off! I can see why Shostakovich pulled it before Stalin’s Vultures savaged it (and him). It’s very much Ars Gratia Artis!
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Ah the two Christopher’s doing their magic as well. Good times.
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Listening to these two new releases on Qobuz.
The Tchaikovsky is my favorite violin concerto, and I have strong opinions regarding my favorite recordings. This new performance by a 17-year-old is a worthy addition. Technically brilliant and clean, and surprisingly sensitive in the second movement.
The Alpensinfonie is a recording I have had for a long time, and this reissue sounds great!
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Hi Roger,
Belated thanks for this Bax set recommendation. Excellent steer!
Your post from last December stuck in my mind, not least because I already had a couple of the Chandos, Bryden Thompson, LPO cycle that I’ve always thought had exemplary sound in their own right and I didn’t think needed betterment, but having just bought the Handley/BBC set I think the sound quality is a demonstration class in depicting a full Orchestra under sail and Handley’s interpretations are just spot-on. Wonderful Symphonist fully revealed!
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Zhang’s Hammerklavier ranks with the absolute best - he’s found a fluidity and sensitivity that is rare and compelling.
Cheers
EJ
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Glad you’re enjoying the set.
For lovers of British music I think Handley is a much under appreciated conductor. IMO his Vaughan Williams symphony cycle remains one of the finest available. His Elgar symphonies, too were up there with the best and he was conductor for Nigel Kennedy’s first (and, for me better) recording of the violin concerto. But he was not a flamboyant conductor (I only saw him live once) and never really sought the limelight, so easy to overlook. I think it was a disgrace that he wasn’t given a knighthood.
Roger
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Ian Bostridge and Saskia Giorgini in a wonderful Schumann recital. I can also highly recommend the recent Gramophone podcast in which they talk about the record and share insights background and obvious love for these works.
Cheers
EJ
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